“I went out there because I do the church bulletin and newsletter and always make my copies there,” Goddard said. “I just bought $90 worth of pre-paid cards for copies.”

The mystery deepens!

“Some read the sign, then shake the door or kick it, like they want to get in,” he said. “A van pulled up this morning and unloaded before he saw the sign. He had to pack all those boxes back up. He was not a happy camper.”

Up and down the strip mall there are lots of rumors, but no reason given why the UPS Store here, Marietta’s only one, closed last Wednesday.

Sadly, the reporters interviews produced no answered, just a sad man whose daughter’s birthday present is stuck inside the mysteriously closed UPS Store.

“Everything that was there late Tuesday is apparently still in there,” he said.

The gift has not been delivered in South Carolina.

“It’s the first time we’ve ever used the store,” he said. “I want my package. There’s nothing I can do, short of busting down the door.”

Who amongst you can solve “The Case Of The Closed UPS Store”? —MEGHANN MARCO

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The guy should contact the owner of the mall/property. They own the place and there should be provisions by which a landlord can enter leased units. Seems to me like “retrieving someone’s stuff” is a valid reason.

I use to be a UPS Store employee. From what the owner once said he can’t simply close up shop. UPS is suppose to come in and take over considering people have mailboxes there and the stores are profitable. Maybe he was blowing smoke, though.

Besides contacting the strip mall owner, try contacting Mail Boxes Etc. http://www.mbe.com (800) 789-4623 (Customer Service?) Last resort is calling UPS since they just drop by to pick up and drop off packages. (800)PICKUPS

UPS Stores are franchise stores, locally owned and operated. Until the owner of the store falls behind on his/her rent there isn’t anything the mall owner can do. UPS may be able to access the store, depending on the franchise agreement, but I doubt it.

When I was working at a Mail Boxes Etc. (Now The UPS Store) I heard about another store that had a similar situation in Carmel, Ca. Apparently, the owner had been keeping all of the mail instead of sending it out and then one day took all the money and any valuable contents from packages etc. and left. My guess is that this is what happened here. As for the store I worked in, we had an owner that was separate from the manager, so maybe the owner is still around…

@Craig: Actually, I would think that would depend on the lease agreement the store owner signed with the mall. When I lived in apartments there was always a clause in the lease describing when the landlord could enter, and how much notice had to be given, but I had to allow them to come in, even when my rent was paid up.

I been reading Consumerist for about 2 years now, and now this comes up.

Yours truly owned a UPS Store franchise in Northern California. I too, shut my store after the dollars stopped making cents. Seems like the owner of the mentioned location was either a shitbag or owed Tony Soprano some money and had to bail real fast-like.

I will say that UPS, the company that bought Mail Boxes Etc. (what I was before UPS Store) has fucked all of us. Why ship UPS at my UPS Store when you can pay 20% less online. Makes sense, I know…I would do the same thing. Difference is that they did it to me (UPS Store).

I travel a lot and often have to ship documents back to my office. My company has a UPS account number. I can use this account number to ship documents from UPS drop boxes or UPS service centers but not from “The UPS Store”.

The independent owners of these stores refuse to accept packages shipped with account numbers because it prevents them from adding their huge mark up to the shipping charges. These stores want to soak little old ladies for boxes, tape, etc. then add a 50% mark up to shipping charges on top of that.

I have a high regard for UPS itself but these stores are hurting their reputation.

I work for a commercial real estate company and there are many standard clauses in a tenant’s lease that allow the landlord entry. This sounds like a case of abandonment and skipping in which case the landlord usually has a right to take possession of the premises.

You should call UPS too. They may not know what has happened. Although the location may be a franchise, UPS has their name on it and it is in their interest to keep the location open (by sending in a new operator perhaps). They may have a legal claim against the franchisee too. If they don’t follow through then the mall landlord may be able to sue them so that’s further incentive for them to get their act together.

I highly doubt that any rental agreement that store has includes any provision for the landlord going into the store to ‘retrieve’ property that someone says is theirs. In fact, I’m reasonably certain that anyone business savvy enough to own a strip mall would laugh at the person who asked for them to do this.

Call UPS and complain. Try to find the owner’s name and complain. Ultimately, people will have to suck it up though– I doubt this person has any interest in good customer service at this point.

On another note: my local UPS store has always taken my pre-labled packages for delivery. I pre-print my shipping label, slap it on the package and drop it off with a ‘yep– it’s all set’ and a smile.

Per their own site: “Customers can generate their own label via the Shipping function on UPS.com or by using any one of UPS’s online products. Of course, smart labels can also be applied to packages customers take to any one of UPS’s 70,000 full-service and drop off locations, e.g. The UPS Store, plus 88,000 UPS drivers. “

The UPS Store I use in Chicago (because it’s way closer than the official UPS shipping facility, and there’s usually about 20 less people in line too) is really, really great (the one on Milwaukee just north of North Ave if anyone cares).

The guys that work there are are really nice, always really helpful and always willing to lend me some tape, etc. Unlike other UPS Stores that people are posting about here, they actually do let you drop off a package for pickup by UPS that is being shipped with account #s or that you already paid by credit card for at UPS.com. I was floored when I found that out, because I knew they’d lose money.

They also always have a bowl of dog biscuits out, and a big bowl of chocolates and other candies that customers are welcome to help themselves to.

My Neighborhood UPS Store kindly offered to tape up a ground-service box for me. Outside I noticed the $2 packing fee on the receipt. First I was mad at their tactics, then sad at their desperation for cash.